No single momentous invention from India in 60 years: Narayana Murthy

Bengaluru: There has not been a single invention from India in the last 60 years that became a household name globally, nor any idea that led to “earth shaking” invention to “delight global citizens”, IT czar NR Narayana Murthy said today.

“Our youngsters have not done much impactful research work despite being equal to their counterparts in intellect and energy in Western universities,” he said delivering the convocation address at the Indian Institute of Science here.

Listing out 10 major inventions that Massachusets Institute of Technology has created in the last 50 years that includes Global Positioning System, Bionic Prostheses and Microchip, Murthy said these happened because students and faculty at MIT “walked the untrodden path, asked the unasked questions and used their intellectual prowess to take huge leaps”.

“They demonstrated unusual courage to achieve the plausibly-impossible. The story is similar at many other western institutions of higher education,” he said.

He said almost all inventions such as cars, electric bulb, radio, television, computers, internet, Wi-Fi, MRI, laser, robots and many other gadgets and technology happened, “thanks to the research by Western Universities”.

He added: “On the other hand, let us pause and ask what the contributions of Indian institutions of higher learning, particularly IISc ans IITs, have been over the last sixty-plus years to make our society and the world a better place?

“Is there one invention from India that has become a household name in the globe? Is there one technology that has transformed the productivity of global corporations? Is there one idea that has lead to an earth shaking invention to delight global citizens?”

Co-founder of the country’s major IT firm Infosys said, “Folks, the reality is that there is no such contribution from India in the last 60 years. The only two ideas that have transformed the productivity of global corporations — The Global Delivery Model and the 24-hours workday — came from the company called Infosys.”